Promise Management
A framework for teams to keep work aligned;
Where everyone can see who is working on what, and when.
The way most companies manage their work, set their teams up to fail.
They end up having to spend so much energy pinging, nudging and sending reminders that there's hardly any energy left over to put into the actual work itself.
I've audited dozens of work management processes and 9 times out of 10: they do an OK job for managing personal work, but score horribly when it comes to coordinated teamwork.
Don’t Blame The Platform
Regardless of the platform, this is how it typically looks.
Meeting action items are locked in meeting docs or personal notes
Meeting action items then don't really go anywhere, or at best, someone creates a task that it goes into their Home Screen
Everyone's work is buried in their Home Screen, so no one has any visibility into what their teammates have on their plate, or what they're working on at any given time because it's strewn across multiple projects or stuck in those meeting docs
And since that work isn't visually centralized in the one place for each person, people end up taking on more than they can handle
This is a nightmare for any regular human to keep up for themselves. Multiply this by the number of collaborators you have, and that’s the size of your coordination nightmare.
High Friction, Low Trust
This way of working creates immense friction for getting meaningful work done. People miss deadlines or they forget to do things, and then you're constantly having to nudge and budge.
No one likes getting nudged and budged constantly all the time. But if the work is likely to be missed, what other choice do you have? This leads to frustration and resentment. It ultimately fosters an environment where there is low trust that stuff will get done.
That's exactly what was happening to my team until we implemented a Promise Management System.
The premise is simple:
What happens if everyone on a team can see who is working on what, and when, at all times?It's a simple framework that enables teams to stay coordinated, get more stuff done, and most importantly—build trust and accountability because there's transparency across the entire team.
visualize work everywhere
At the base of the Promise Management system are Command Centers.
Everyone on a team has a Command Center that contains two lists:
My Work
My Waiting For.
All the action items that you are working on goes into My Work.
Any action that was made as a promise to you is added to your Waiting For.
If your team only used this part of the system, you'd already start seeing improvements in your team's output and your morale because now everyone's work is visible for the entire team.
At any moment, you can see how much is on someone's plate and assess whether they've taken on more than they can handle—a likely sign, they'll start missing deadlines for certain items.
This is a great opportunity for either a coaching call or some type of clarity call, especially for managers for their direct reports.
Now that each person’s work is visualized:
People can say “yes” to tasks and deadlines with more confidence
Saying “no” or “not now” to assigned work becomes less confronting. A team member can point others to their Command Center to see how much work they currently have.
Task Statuses for Managing Expectations
The task statuses broadly categorize when the work will be done.
My teammates can scan My Work and understand my workload at a glance.
I can scan My Waiting For and quickly see when my collaborators intend to fulfill their promises.
If nothing looks out of place, I can get back to my own deep work.
Otherwise, I am prompted to check-in and make sure everything is on-track or troubleshoot with my collaborator.
No more nasty surprises.
Custom Fields Provide Context & Meaning
People are more inclined to put their best foot forward when they understand the meaning behind their actions (or the cost of failed action).
Purpose: Explains the WHY behind each action and how it contributes to the bigger picture
Definition of Done: Explains what “done” actually means. This may include target metrics, quality measures, or scope of the work.
Action Type: Provides a visual cue for the nature of the action. Is it a high-leverage activity? A promise made during a meeting?
Who's Waiting: Provides a visual cue to remind us of who we made promises to.
Sprint Ending: A date stamp for the last day of a Sprint cycle.
Not Done: Helps to maintain accountability for missed work.
Want a team that keeps promises?
At a high-level, I’ve introduced you the main elements of the Promise Management System.
If you want Promise Management in your team, I created a full explainer doc and ClickUp template for you.
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